Aretha Franklin is an overspending sex addict, according to new book

Aretha Franklin is an icon of American music and the Queen of Soul, but according to a new book, the legendary star’s dark side was one of epic proportions. Writer David Ritz alleges as much in his controversial new book, RESPECT; in which Ritz paints Franklin as a paranoid diva, driven by insecurity and addiction; and carrying dark scars from a damaged youth and troubled father. According to the book, Rev. C.L. Franklin’s Detroit church also doubled as a house of sin on Saturday nights, complete with orgies. Ritz includes quotes from late musicians Ray Charles and Billy Preston in which they discuss the culture at New Bethel Baptist Church. The atmosphere caused Aretha to be sexually adventurous, even at a young age, with Ritz outlining a teenage Aretha’s sexual encounters with older men, like soul legend Sam Cooke.

Ritz claims that Franklin was extremely paranoid about the commercial success of contemporaries such as Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross, and that she later was furious at Beyoncé, who once referred to Tina Turner as “the Queen of Soul.” Ritz talks about her marriage to her manager Ted White, who he says financed her career with money he’d made from pimping prostitutes in Detroit.

“Everyone knew that Ted White was a brutal man,” Aretha’s sister-in-law Earline told Ritz. “But Aretha … she’s always clung to this fairy-tale storyline. She wanted the world to think she had a storybook marriage. She was having all those hits and making all that money. She was scared of rocking the boat, until one day the boat capsized and she nearly drowned.”

The book also delves into Aretha’s food addictions, her allegedly floating fake stories about her husbands and lovers to the press, her insecurity about her looks, and many more dark aspects of Franklin’s life and career. The singer, who just released the covers album, Aretha Franklin Sings the Diva Classics, has not responded to Ritz’s book. Ritz wrote the Franklin autobiography Aretha: From These Roots 15 years ago.

2 Comments

lonnie keyson October 31, 2014 at 4:04 pm

i totally be lieve this man cause these rumors about her been around since my mother 1960s haydays .. areatha is a mega diva , she is grumpy and fussy and let her self so to the pont of just sloppy, she disappoint many fans with always cancelling ocncerts and ranting , she has a chip on her shoulderwith dianna ross and a lot of thefemales from her area she always though she was better than these ladies .. diannia ross is the real queen of soul not no areatha fat franklin . .. i may be the only one think she can not sing she sound drunk to me ….. and sam cook had a booty call with her and never wanted to date her that made her furious , she turned around and claimed her dad stopped sam cook from marrying her amazon looking butt .. with a hugh nose ..she aint never been cute as dianna rosses big toe … look better

one ugly chick .. if i was her i would try to cling to her little legacy cause these new generation of kids dont even remember her name ,, beyonce is the queen of soul to them that is the real reason she dont like beyonce …
tina turner and dianna ross really are they queens of soul , cause dianna ross is the one all girls wanted to be even opra said that …. so what the hell is her floppy titty big monsterous ass talking bout .. them tiddays look like they been retired for 1999 years , i cant believe some of the clothes she chooses . .and i believe the obamas choose beyonce to SING THE ATHEM ,RAHTER THAN HER CAUSE OF HOW SLOPPY SHE LOOK . .LOOKING WORST THAN MADEA …. SHE IS MADEA .. REALLY .. SHE FIGHTS PEOPLE OVER CHEESE BURGERS I HEAR . LOL
she will gain that weight right back ,, 350lbs she lost 100 she will gain 200 back watch her .. she is lazy and trifflin and i dont give a dam what she think her honors ought to be , , to us she is just ms piggy with the old version of itune…. lol